


Three Little Words

by holdontoyourhulahoops



Category: Free!
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, and also the best friend ever, rin is the worst friend, sousuke and haru suck at communication, sousuke and rin are bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 21:44:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4115965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdontoyourhulahoops/pseuds/holdontoyourhulahoops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sousuke accidentally tells Rin something he probably shouldn't have while mildly intoxicated.  Unfortunately for him, Rin has great selective memory even after being quite drunk- he never forgets anything that could cause Sousuke potential embarrassment.<br/>And he's definitely not above meddling in his friends' relationships, either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Little Words

It’s a little unfortunate how terrible Rin is at holding his liquor, Sousuke thinks, as he tugs his friend down the street, back toward their hotel.  Going out for a celebratory drink after Rin and Haru’s swimming tournament had seemed like a good idea at the time, but he’s slowly starting to regret it.

“Sou _suke_ ….!  I wanna stay longer!” Rin slurs, swaying to the side precariously.  “I was making friends.”

“You already have plenty of friends,” Sousuke grunts, covertly dragging him back from walking directly into the street.  

“No, our lame friends ditched us!”

Sousuke rolls his eyes.  Crowded bars are not really Haru’s thing, so he’d headed back to the hotel with Makoto hours before.  “I would ditch you too, if I could.”

“Shut up!  You love me…”  Rin retorts, clinging to him from behind.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Sousuke grumbles.  “Also, hurry up.  You’re expected to meet your mom and sister for breakfast early tomorrow.”  While Gou might find a severely hungover Rin hilarious, he doubts Ms. Matsuoka would really appreciate it.

“It’s not that late!” Rin asserts.  “And I’m not even drunk.” Even as he says this, his feet threaten to fall out from under him, and Sousuke has to reach out to catch him before he collapses to the ground in a lump.

“We both know you can’t handle your alcohol,” Sousuke mumbles, cringing a little at the momentary flashbacks from years before that threaten to enter his memory.  He wills them away as quickly as possible.

Wrinkling his nose, Rin disregards that comment.  Maybe he hadn’t heard. “Haru’s so lame.  I totally kicked his ass today, and he won’t even stay for like one drink.  What a loser.”

“He beat you in two of the three events.”

Rin’s lip curls.  “Okay, but I killed him at butterfly.”

“He doesn’t even want to swim that.”

Rin pouts, looking devastatingly hurt.  “That stupid stubborn idiot.  He still made trials for a stroke our coach had to force him to swim… And what happened to you?  I thought you were on my side!”  He belches loudly into his friend’s ear, and Sousuke has to shove him away.  

“ _Stop_.”

“Traitor!”

“What’s that’s supposed to mean?”

Rin whips his hands around his head in rapid movements, inadvertently slapping himself in the face.  He doesn’t seem to notice.  “I’m your best friend!  Your ultimate bro!”

“Ultimate bro…?” Sousuke repeats.

“Yes!  So there are rules, as in you cheer for me in swim meets rather than the water obsessed fish-man you call a boyfriend.”

Sighing heavily, Sousuke grips Rin’s waist to steer him in the right direction.  “I think you need to go to bed.”

“You have terrible tastes.”

Sousuke rolls his eyes at this.  “Don’t act like you didn’t have a thing for Haru all throughout high school.”

“Gross.”

“Don’t bullshit.”

“He’s hot, okay?!” Rin grunts, lip jutting out in a pout.  “Still doesn’t explain what you see in him.”

Sousuke shakes his head at the indignant expression on his best friend’s face.  Perhaps he’s a little intoxicated too, because the words leave his mouth before he can even think about them. “Haru’s hard not to love,” he mumbles, shrugging dismissively.  

There’s a short pause where Rin’s eyes widen exponentially, before a face-splitting smile breaks across his mouth.  “Sousuke…” he coos, blinking rapidly.

“What…?”

“I didn’t know you felt that way…” Rin slurs, sniffling.  “So forward.”

It’s then that the full of extent of what he just said really hits, and Sousuke starts, nearly dropping his best friend onto the pavement.  “Fuck.”

“Don’t worry,  _Sou_ \- I can keep a secret,” Rin says solemnly.

“Forget I said anything.”

“But that’s so sweet!” Rin sobs, twisting around.

“Why the fuck are you crying?” Sousuke sighs.

“I’m…. I’m just- SO happy for you…” Rin offers a teary-eyed smile and clings to Sousuke’s arm.  “You make like the weirdest couple ever…. well- I mean Rei and Nagisa are pretty damn weird too, but-”  He pauses to blow his nose into Sousuke’s t-shirt.  “You have my blessing.”

“You’re going to bed,” Sousuke grumbles again, as he tugs Rin past the front desk of their hotel.  “And this is the last time you’re drinking- ever.”

But Rin just draws in a watery breath, nuzzling his face against his best friend’s shoulder.  “I’m best man at your wedding, right?”

* * *

 

Sousuke’s alarm goes off far too early the next morning.  He sits up with a soft grunt, rubbing at his eyes.  Rin’s spread out like a starfish on the bed across from his, apparently dead to the world.

“Oi, moron,” he hisses, blinking against the morning light.  “You’re supposed to meet your family in an hour.”

The only response he receives is a weak moan.

“Don’t give me that.  I  _did_  warn you.”

A louder moan, and then Rin proceeds to bury his face beneath his pillow.

“Don’t be a baby.  You didn’t have that much to drink,” Sousuke says, clicking his tongue.

He’s rewarded with a pillow chucked at his head for his efforts, which is really unfair, considering what he’d had to deal with last night.

“Fine.  I’ll take first shower.  But you better get up.”

Rin makes a muffled sound and twists his head around, squinting.  “Wait…” He holds up a hand, making a show of how much effort it takes for him to turn onto his side.  “So… I’ve been thinking.”

Sousuke raises an eyebrow at him.  Part of him wonders if Rin might still be drunk, as illogical as that may seem.  Still, drunk or not, those words coming out of Rin’s mouth are never good for anyone.  

“I probably don’t want to know.”

Rin disregards that comment, and carries on, looking a little more alert already.  “Have you actually told Haru that you love him?”  

Rin isn’t able to muscle up the reflexes necessary to dodge the shoe that is lobbed at his face.  “I told you to forget about that,” Sousuke grunts, frustrated.  Rin seems to have selective memory when intoxicated, and unfortunately, never forgets anything that can be used to embarrass his best friend.  

“So you haven’t.”

Another shoe comes flying at him, but this time, Rin at least musters up the energy to lift an arm to protect himself.  Rolling his eyes, he knocks the shoe onto the ground, a small grin on his face. “I know you suck at this kind of thing.  Let me help.”

“I was drunk.”

“But you said it, you love Haru,” Rin sing-songs.

“That’s not what I said.”

“It’s what you meant,” Rin sighs, mouth relaxing into a dreamy smile.  “It’s cute.”

Sousuke glares at him for a moment, a deep scowl on his face.  He wants very much to deny the accusation, but there’s no point with Rin.  His flustered reaction and red face have already given him away.  So he settles for narrowing his eyes and pulling the door shut, with a grumbled, “Mind your own business.”

He dreads going back into the room, but thankfully, when he steps out after his shower, he finds it has already been infiltrated by a blond monster.  

Nagisa’s bouncing on Rin’s bed, screaming loudly in his ear.  “Rin-chan! Rin-chan! Rin-chan!” he chants.  “Gou-chan says you gotta get up!”

Rin swats at him and moans at the ridiculous volume, but Sousuke feels absolutely no sympathy.  

Haru’s leaning in the doorway, watching them.  His eyes meet Sousuke’s briefly, lips quirking up in silent amusement.

“Have fun last night?” he asks.

“Rin sure did,” Sousuke replies, with a quiet snicker.

“Fine,” Rin grumbles behind him, pushing Nagisa away as he sits up.  “I hate you guys.”

“Ah, Rin-chan, don’t be like that!” Nagisa exclaims.  

Rin forces himself to his feet, maybe a little more wobbly and pale then usual, but otherwise alive.  “You guys all suck.”

“Your mom wants you downstairs in twenty minutes,” Haru says indifferently, and Rin all but sneers at him as he stumbles by.  His grumpy mood doesn’t stop him from glancing impishly at Sousuke, like he might say something more about their previous conversation, but instead settles for a half-hearted wink as he closes the bathroom door.

Haru raises an eyebrow at Sousuke over this exchange, mostly because his boyfriend’s entire face has gone unmistakably red.  But then Nagisa races forward to grab both of their arms and they’re yanked out the door, effectively distracting them both.  “Come on, Mako-chan and Rei-chan are getting breakfast!”

Sousuke breathes a quiet sigh of relief.  Still, he’s known Rin long enough to know this isn’t over.

* * *

 

And Sousuke definitely isn’t wrong.  Though Rin seems to have gotten the message not to directly bring it up, that doesn’t stop him from (coincidentally) sending Sousuke countless web articles with dating and romance advice; exactly seven of them proclaiming ‘best ways to tell someone you love them’ or something of that nature, even mentioning that he's used some of them in his own relationship. It’s utterly obnoxious.  Sousuke deletes each article without even opening them up.

Still, there’s a point when it starts to get out of hand.  Namely, when he looks up to find Haru paging through what appears to be a very flowery looking shoujo manga as they’re watching TV at his apartment.

“I didn’t know you read that crap,” Sousuke mumbles, nudging Haru with his knee.  

Haru lifts his eyes.  “I don’t.  It was on your couch.”

Sousuke starts, and proceeds to rip the damn book from the other’s hands.  Haru blinks at him in mild surprise.

“It’s not mine!  It’s Rin’s!” Sousuke hisses defensively.  He has a striking suspicion that Rin hadn’t left it over here on accident, either.  That little shit.

Shrugging, Haru just leans back against him.  “I don’t mind.”

Sousuke grunts and tosses the damned book across the room, shoulders growing tense.

Haru watches it fly away, eyebrows pinched together, but doesn’t comment on it.  Instead he purses his lips, mulling over his question.  “Is Rin okay?”

Sousuke straightens up, staring down at Haru curiously.  “Hmm… yeah, why?”

“Don’t know.  He’s been acting odd… or something.”

“It’s Rin,” Sousuke says dismissively.  “What can you expect?”

He can tell from the way that Haru stares at him that he doesn’t completely buy that explanation, but thankfully he lets it go and drops his head onto Sousuke’s shoulder.  “There’s a marine mammals special on the nature channel.”

“Who says I want to watch three hours of fish?” Sousuke grumbles, even as he switches the station.  Haru hums and mindlessly reaches for his hand.

“Not fish,  _mammals_.”

“Whatever, Haru.”

“There’s a big difference.”

“Just shut up and watch the show.”

* * *

 

“So….?”  Rin eyes Sousuke expectantly, a very serious expression on his face.  They’re back at a bar again, though this time Rin is mostly sober.  It’s almost worse than before.

“So what?”

“So…. _so_ ….?” Rin gesticulates wildly, waving his hands around his face.

“You look like an idiot.”

“Don’t play dumb, Sou.  Have you said anything about…  _you know_?”  He offers a coy smile.

“I don’t.”

Rin lets out a tired groan, and leans forward conspiratorially.  “Have you gotten around to Haru that you… love him?”

Sousuke shoves Rin back with the palm of his hand.  “Since when were you ever so invested in my love life?”  he grumbles, a sour look on his face.

“Since you’ve actually _had_  one.  And with my long-time rival, at that,” Rin adds, blinking thoughtfully.  “It’s been weeks!  You have to tell him!  God knows Haru would never take the initiative…” He crosses his arms and flicks a piece a hair behind his ear.

“Look, just because you decided to put words in my mouth after I drunkenly said something-”

“We both know you weren’t that drunk!”

“-doesn’t mean you get any say in the way I run my relationship.”

Pouting, Rin looks away from him.  “Well, _sorry_ ,” he mumbles, with a small scowl.  

Sousuke lets out a tired breath.  In his own way, Rin is just trying to be a good friend, even if it’s annoying as hell.  “As much as it pains you, I don’t think Haru gives two shits about romance.  And to be honest, I don’t either.  Just let us do our own thing, okay?”

“Fine, fine, I wasn’t trying to meddle anyway.”

“Sure you weren’t.”

“Well, we both know you suck at romance, so there’s no harm in giving you more references.”

“No more references.”

“But-”

“ _Rin_.”

“Fine.  Gah.  You guys are so annoying,” Rin grumbles, and takes a swig of his drink.  

* * *

 

Rin, for all his humble promises of backing off, seems to be physically incapable of restraining himself from meddling, at least a little.

Sousuke is acutely aware of his coy glances as their group of four wanders through the park, and barely resists the urge to strangle him.

Rin suggesting a double date on its own isn’t really all that suspicious.  He’s always been a romantic at heart, after all, so him on insisting on a moonlit walk through their local park after dinner definitely isn’t out of character, either.

But the shit-eating grin and poor Makoto’s uneasy expression definitely clues Sousuke in that something’s up.  Briefly, he feels bad for letting Rin drag Makoto into this whole mess.

Haru walks next to him, looking decidedly uninterested in the entire affair.  Rin is leading the way, pulling Makoto behind him by the hand and humming happily.  It’s late enough that there’s hardly anyone else out, so they’re free to enjoy the relative privacy.

Sousuke drags his feet, knowing very well that he can’t avoid whatever his best friend’s planning forever.  Though Rin had ‘just wanted to wander around the park’, it’s clear he has a destination in mind, if the purposeful way he’s pulling his boyfriend along is any indication.

They finally come to a stop in front of the central duck pond, which is currently abandoned aside from a lone duck sleeping in the corner. Even Sousuke has to admit that it’s lovely; the way the trees part around the pond to reveal the stars sparkling overhead, and the faint sliver of the moon reflects in the clear water.  

Rin sighs happily, and straigtens up to whisper something in Makoto’s ear, to which his boyfriend blushes and desperately shakes his head.  Sousuke doesn’t want to know.

Beside him, Haru lets out a tired little sound and shifts closer.  He’s humoring Rin, as they often do, but it’s clear he doesn’t care much for romantic moonlit walks, especially with the how odd everyone’s acting.

Sousuke isn’t surprised when Rin yawns, and twists his hand around Makoto’s wrist, making a show of gasping in surprise.  

“Wait, where’s my watch?” he exclaims, raising his arm dramatically.  “I must have left it at the restaurant.” He lets out a fake grown.  “We have to run back.”

“We’ll go with you,” Sousuke starts, glaring pointedly.

“No need!” Rin insists, and all but smirks at him.  “We’ll be right back.”

“Rin-” Makoto tries, but there’s no point, because he’s already being tugged away, an apologetic look directed towards his friend.

Sousuke watches them go, leering bitterly after Rin.  For all of his hair-brained schemes, this one might be the dumbest of all.  It’s not even a well thought out plan.  They could both just go home if they wanted, despite what Rin has apparently judged as the perfect location for romance.

Sousuke has half a mind to do just that.

Haru lets Rin drag Makoto away without reacting, apparently willing to just accept whatever strange plan Rin’s concocted.  

Sousuke swallows, staring anywhere but at Haru.  “That idiot.”

“Hmm…”

“Not going to ask what that was about?” Sousuke snorts, wringing his hands anxiously.

“Don’t care,” Haru mumbles, though he does take a step closer, quirking his head to the side, as if inviting the other to explain.

Sousuke’s breath hitches.  This entire thing is so pointless.  Maybe he should just say it, if only to appease Rin.  It’s not as if it should be that big of a deal.

It’s just that he’s never felt like it’s something he’s had to say out loud with Haru.  Not only is it embarrassing, but it’s seemed unnecessary up to this point.  He knows Haru cares about him from the gentle pressure on the back of his hand when he’s feeling uneasy, or the soft little breath he releases before pulling Sousuke into a hug, without either of them having to say a word.  

It’s been that way with them throughout their friendship and young relationship; neither of them has ever been great at voicing how they feel.  Actions have always been enough.

But maybe they  _should_  try to get better at communication.

Steeling himself, Sousuke takes a deep breath and glances back up, the words on the tip of his tongue-

Only to find nothing but a pile of clothes where Haruka had been standing moments before.

“Haru?!” He yelps, just in time for his boyfriend to land in the pond with a resounding splash.  The lone sleeping duck squawks in a panic at having its home invaded and scurries away, but Haru pays it no mind, floating peacefully in the water.  

“God damn it!  You wore your swimsuit to a nice restaurant?!”

Predictably, he doesn’t receive any response.  Haru lifts an arm, his wistful expression reflected in the moonlight.

“Haru, get out!”  Sousuke calls, stomping toward the duck pond with a deep scowl.  “What the hell?”

Haru shifts his gaze toward him, mouth twitching with amusement.

“I’m serious!  What would Makoto say?”

Haru snorts, pulling himself back toward the shallow edge of the pond, only a few feet from the very obvious ‘NO SWIMMING’ sign posted there.  “Makoto’s not here.”

“ _Haru_ -” Sousuke repeats, voice raised in an unsaid warning.

Haru’s eyes glint under the limited light.  “Sousuke,” he parrots, cocking his head to side lazily.

Grumbling,  Sousuke takes a final step closer to the water, hands on his hips.  “You utter piece of shit, if you don’t get out right now, I’m never- FUCK!”

Unknowingly, he’d walked right into Haru’s trap.  Before he can even react, he feels a cool hand wrap around his ankle, and tug him forward with alarming strength.  He falls face first into the water, thoroughly soaking his clothes. Sputtering, he manages to pull his head up, eyes narrowed with shock and frustration

For a moment, they stare at each other, Sousuke one second from exploding at him.

But then Haru hiccups and breaks into a fit of laughter, head thrown back with glee. His soft giggles echo through the silent park, shoulders trembling adorably as he tries to hold it in.  

And Sousuke can’t help it.  He melts, the fury quickly draining from his blood to be replaced by overwhelming affection.  

He’s in far too deep for this shit.

“You brat,” he grunts, surging forward to wrap his arms around Haru’s waist and dunk them both underwater.  Haru doesn’t stop laughing, linking his arms around Sousuke’s neck, as he gasps for breath between his giggles.

“Why do I even bother putting up with you?” Sousuke sighs, dropping their foreheads together tenderly, despite his feigned annoyance.  

Haru blinks; takes a few shallow breaths to regain his composure enough to speak.  “Because you love me.”

Sousuke goes stock-still, feeling all the air suddenly sucked from his lungs.  It was probably meant as a joke, but Haru’s staring at him earnestly, eyes glowing.

Swallowing, he wills himself not to avert his gaze and rubs his finger along the side of Haru’s hip.  “Yeah.  I guess you’re right.”

Haru’s lips quirk up into a tender smile.  “Okay,” he says softly, as if it’s just that simple.  “I love you too.”

Sousuke releases a quiet snort, unable to fight back the embarrassingly large grin growing on his face.  “Okay… Right…. Good,” he says to fill the silence, voice shaky.

Snickering beneath his breath, Haru leans forward to seal their mouths together.  Sousuke inhales sharply and tugs him closer, raising one hand to tangle into Haru’s wet hair.

….

BONUS

“That was mean, Rin.”

“Hey, they just need a little push.”

Makoto sends him a disparaging glance.  “We shouldn’t meddle in these kind of things,” he sighs, looking guilty.  

“Oh, come on, Makoto.  Don’t worry, I didn’t  _make_  Sousuke do anything.  They could have just gone home or something.”

“Still-”

“I just want them to be happy,” Rin adds, fluttering his eyelashes innocently.

Makoto shakes his head at the cheesiness of Rin’s response, but smiles tiredly and nods anyway.  “Me too.  But I think they already are, Rin.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.  Thanks for the lecture,  _Mom_ ,” Rin mumbles, squeezing Makoto’s hand.  “Let’s just try to track them down.”

At first glance, the clearing seems completely empty, aside from a single misplaced duck that waddles past them.  However, further examination reveals someone standing in the middle of the pond.

“Of course,” Rin bites out, not even sounding that surprised.  “I should have known.  Freaking Haru.  Where the hell did Sousuke get off to?  Can we even leave them alone for five minutes?”

“Um… Rin…” Makoto whispers, hushing him with a gentle pressure on his wrist.

It takes a moment.  Rin curiously follows his gaze, back to the figure- scratch that-  _figures_  in the water, just as an echo of laughter-  _Sousuke’s_  laughter- hits his ears.

“What the fuck?” Rin mumbles, wrinkling his nose.

Makoto emits a quiet chuckle, dropping his shoulders.  “Well-”

“They’re so weird,” Rin sighs, even though he has to admit to himself that it is kind of romantic.  “And they might get arrested.”

“The price of romance, right?” Makoto teases quietly, an easy smile on his face.

Rin flushes.  “Shut up, Mako,” he grumbles, tearing his gaze away from his friends, who seem to be getting very into whatever it is they’re doing.  “I never said that.”

“Uh huh.”

Rin leans into him, letting that comment go.  “I guess they are pretty cute….”

Rolling his eyes, Makoto tugs Rin away.  “Come on.”

“Can we just leave them there?”

Makoto shrugs.  “We’ll bail them out later if they  _do_  get arrested.”

Snorting, Rin digs his feet into the ground.  “Wait, we should snap a picture first.”

“Rin-”

“Oh please, like they’ll notice.”

“But it’s… a breach of privacy.”

“They’re making out in a public pond.”

“Still…”

“And it would be super cute for their wedding photobook.”

Makoto snorts.  “Wedding photobook…?”

Rin winks at him, linking their pinkies together as he slides his phone camera open.  “It’s good to be prepared, right?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I know this was super fluffy, but... I'm not even going to apologize this time haha.
> 
> If you want more, visit my blog at hopenobodyeverfindsthis.tumblr.com
> 
> Prompts are always welcome and feedback is always appreciated.


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